Liverpool's Carling Cup triumph must be consigned to the trophy cabinet as the players prepare to "sacrifice" themselves for the club again, manager Kenny Dalglish said.

A first piece of silverware in six years was secured at Wembley after a physically draining Carling Cup penalty shoot-out win over Cardiff, but the players barely had chance to celebrate as they raced off to join their international teams for the various midweek friendlies taking place around the world.

With fourth-placed Arsenal visiting Anfield on Saturday, Dalglish wants his players fully focused on a match which could impact on their aspirations for Champions League qualification, and said: "We don't want to sound as if they shouldn't have enjoyed themselves - I hope they have because we have - but we've had the enjoyment and now it is back to work."

He added: "We know the hard work which was involved in getting to Wembley. The players were prepared to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the club and we just need more of that.

"We will now go for whatever we can in every game. It is nice to be in the Europa League but it is even nicer if we can progress and build on what we did last Sunday.

"I am sure it has whetted their appetite. Our season is not finished because we won the Carling Cup."

Questions were started to be asked of some of Dalglish's signings, particularly those who arrived in the summer, prior to the win in Cardiff, with the likes of Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam coming in for criticism.

However, Downing produced his best display in a red shirt at Wembley and Dalglish will hope winning something early in their Liverpool careers will give a boost to the summer signings.

"I think for everyone who has come in you don't realise how big and important and how difficult it is to change your circumstances," he added. "It is not only yourself but your family who have to settle down.

"But they have now contributed to the fantastic history this club has and they have a place in a lot of people's hearts that maybe wasn't there on the Saturday."